When I met Tim Tate face-to-face to make the images for the blog, he brought me to a tree in the town where he lives – Warwick, NY.He explained that he worked down the block.While I knew that the reason I was introduced to Tim by Frank Grazioli because Tim had made significant lifestyle and nutrition changes, I had no idea why the tree held any significance.As a side note, Tim and Frank were former colleagues at Wiley, where they worked together for eight years.

About five years ago, Tim had serious health issues and realized he needed to make changes to his nutrition and lifestyle in order to live a long, healthy life.Tim said that he never considered himself a “health nut,” but he’s gone through a major transformation health wise.He realized he needed to take responsibility for his own healthcare, i.e., focus on taking care of himself to avoid health issues, both now and as he ages.His doctor encouraged him to think about his health as he would a 401k plan - the more you invest now, the more it will be there when you need it later in life.

After being laid off from Wiley – the consequences of a dwindling print publishing industry and offshoring of jobs – Tim enrolled in the Institute for Integrated Nutrition to become a health coach; a one year program.He is using his Certification as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach to start a business and is coaching a couple of clients.He is speaking to groups in his area on the topics of nutrition and lifestyle changes, and is now giving presentations on what it takes to make lasting changes in our lives. To quote Tim, "what's the point in losing weight one year if you gain it all back the next?" While at school, Tim met the founder of the Institute and he now runs production of their publishing.Tim has helped them publish two books.

Tim said that while he gets some exercise, it isn’t his main focus.He follows the “Primal Blueprint,” a book written by Mark Sisson, a world class marathoner, which encourages us to align ourselves to the way our bodies evolved in terms of food, exercise, and sleep habits.Some examples are using what we have around us to exercise – our ancestors didn’t have gym memberships, they lifted their own body weight or sprinted toward food or away from danger.Therefore Tim parks at the far reaches of parking lots to get some extra exercise, and often sprints between places to get the blood flowing.The tree, Tim explained, is where he hangs to stretch his muscles after a stressful time at work, but also to climb and do pull ups.

The Blueprint also encourages the elimination of processed foods from your diet.Tim has a son in high school that is practicing a similar nutritional lifestyle with his dad.Tim’s son has Asperger’s syndrome, and there has been a lot of research showing benefits in people with the disorder who cut out sugars and processed foods.Tim says he’s seen a huge improvement since the 1st grade, when his son barely spoke, to now, when he is an active member of his Boy Scout troop and has been invited into Honors English.

The final tidbit from the blueprint that Tim shared with me is that our ancestors didn’t use an alarm clock to wake up.Tim practices going to sleep when he’s tired and at a consistent time every night, and he wakes up without an alarm clock every day…something I don’t think I’d dare to try if I wanted to keep my day job!

I found my time with Tim extremely informative.If you are looking for some nutrition guidance or coaching, I encourage you to reach out to me and I can put you in touch with Tim.Many thanks to Tim for giving me your time for my project and your nutrition advice!